Lionel Messi scores 30th hat trick for Barca to help his side beat Deportivo La Coruna 4-0

Argentina football team captain recorded the 30th hat trick of his career with Barcelona to help his side beat Deportivo La Coruna and move one point behind leader Real Madrid in La Liga.

Messi opened the scoring with a looping header just 10 minutes into the game, then netted again just three minutes after half an hour when he collected Neymar's pass and dinked the ball over home goalkeeper Fabricio Agosto to double Barca's lead.

The Argentine's third goal with a low shot, before an own goal from Sidnei Rechel da Silva Junior sealed the win for Barca, the BBC reported.

Former Barca winger Isaac Cuenca had a chance for Deportivo but shot over when the score was 2-0, although the hosts were comprehensively outclassed.

It was a dominant performance from Luis Enrique's Barca, who had 68 percent possession and 14 attempts at goal with the only surprise being that they scored only four.

Messi has now scored six of his side's last eight league goals and this was Barca's 14th victory in 19 league matches this season.

This was Messi's 22nd La Liga treble and his 30th in all competitions, the report added.